1. Field of the Invention
The present invention is related to the collaged, clustered, and integrated presentation of multiple objects stored in electronic media, assigning group identities, memory addresses and link-tokens to the integrated or collaged clusters, while also partition and assign individual identifies, memory addresses and link-tokens to individual objects in the cluster. The invention further relates to active virtual-layering of an electronic media page, providing simultaneous yet differentiated presentation, perception, and linking for subjects and objects of different nature, connotation, category and/or connectivity. Also related are concept, methods, and apparatus for layering, clustering, composing and active linking of such multidimensional electronic media pages.
2. Description of Related Art
The application of hyper text mark up language (HTML), scripting languages such as Java, Common Gateway Interface (CGI), Practical Extraction and Report Language (PERL), Visual Basic Script Language, VB (Visual Basic)Script, and derivatives thereof, other languages, markup languages, or meta-languages, such as the Standard Generalized Markup Language (SGML-ISO 8879), extensible Markup Language (XML), Cascading Style Sheet (CSS), and Java Speech Markup Language (JSML), allows the static and dynamic linking of computer/electronically stored objects (texts, graphics, icons, parts, items, lists, audio and video segments, etc.) from a container of objects to related information and/or other objects and containers via software link-tokens.
A link-token is an addressing pointer, pointing to the memory location of the link destination. A link-token is represented by an underline, bolded text-string, a bullet, an icon, a graphical thumbnail, a text-string of distinguishable color, or a text-string that changes color when the cursor of the computer screen is placed on top of it. The presence of a link-token is indicated in state-of-the-art “browsers” such as Microsoft Internet Explorer and Netscape Navigator by a “hand” symbol that appears when the cursor of the computer screen is placed on top of an object that has a link-token associated with it. An electronic media “page” has a single and unique LRL (Universal Resource Locator) address. It can physically occupy less, equal to, or more than one or many computer-screen lengths and producing one or many conventional 8½″ by 11″ printed paper pages, when printed. Graphical thumbnails are small images frequently used in on-line or other computer viewable recording media (such as CDROM) to represent objects that are best represented by images. When a link-token associated with a particular object is selected and invoked, for example, by clicking a computer “mouse” button while the pointer is resting at the object or token, the destination object that is linked by the link-token is brought forth from the database or memory bank in the connected storage media addressed by the link-token, and presented for viewing or examination by humans, devices, or computer software.
In the prior art, only one link can be selected and invoked from a segment or a page of electronic media being displayed via its memory address or URL, where numerous hyper-linked objects and link-tokens are present. Only the destination object addressed by, and connected to this particular selected and invoked link-token is brought forth for viewing or examination from the recording media addressed by the particular link-token. If one or more additional objects from the starting page of media is of interest, one must return to the page to make a single selection, and evoke its associated link-token, again, one at a time, from each one page. Moving forward and backward between segments (pages) of media linked by the link-tokens in this manner is a slow and labor intensive procedure.
In this “one object, one-link” and “one page, one link-selection” prior-art operation in the Internet, Intranet, Extranet “Web Media” and CDROM or other digitally stored and computer viewable media, objects are also represented and presented singly and individually by an icon, a word, an individual text-string, an individual graphic thumbnail, or a stand alone graphics, as a single entity in its entirety, either with no more than a single link to a single container/segment/page of related information.
For example, in the field of Electronic Commerce, buying and selling merchandise on the Internet, multiple “featured items,” “top sellers,” or “hot items” are used for promotional and sales purposes. They are shown as a list of text-strings, a list of graphical thumbnails, individual one-item images arranged over a page with or without text descriptions. Or, the featured items would time-share the home page one-at-a-time, each appearing at a different time.
FIG. 1A illustrates the text-string listing of ebaY's “featured” items on its Home-Page at the center of the page. FIG. 1B illustrates the static graphical representation and text descriptions of the EBAY memorabilia-shop items arranged over the page. FIG. 2A, Yahoo Shopping Home & Garden Page, illustrates the text-string list of “top sellers” on the left margin. Yahoo Shopping's Home-Page “featured” items “time-share” the Site Home-Page. Each item is shown individually with its picture and brief description in a box that takes a top portion of the left side of the page at a different, as shown in FIGS. 2B, 2C, 2D. These Figures are screen prints of the Yahoo Shopping Home-Page at different times. FIGS. 2A and 2E illustrate Yahoo Shopping's fixed “featured item” for Category (apparel and home & garden categories) Home-Pages. FIG. 3 illustrates “banner” type boxed feature listing at NetGrocer. FIG. 4A illustrates Shop4Home Mother's Day “featured buys” graphical thumbnail listing. FIG. 4B is the description page linked to the first “featured buy” item in FIG. 4A. FIGS. 5A &5B illustrate Sharper image's Auction Home-Page with its text-string “featured products” and “items recently added.” FIGS. 5C, 5D, 5E illustrate Sharper Image Auction's thumbnail listing of “brand new products.” FIG. 5F shows the item description page linked to a particular thumbnail item. FIGS. 6A, 6B, and 6C illustrate the graphical thumbnail listing and text-string listings of CyberShop.COM's “hot deals.” FIG. 6D is the description page linked to item 5 on FIG. 6C's text-string list. All the above examples typify the discrete, discontinuous, E-presentation of objects in the Web and other electronic media of the prior art.
Human perception and human mind, on the other hand, prefer the continuous and connected, beautiful objects beautifully grouped together, presented with befitting background or natural setting and harmonious companion objects. Human perception also prefers harmonious differentiation of classes of objects or subjects with different context, connotation, and meaning. Skillful and pleasant presentation not only is known to improve perception and impression, increase the speed and depth of understanding, learning and remembering, but also works well in alluring and enticing human desire and fondness for the objects thus skillfully presented.
Macys.Com uses un-boxed inactive thumbnail to represent its on-line shopping categories, with link-tokens embedded in the accompanying text headings as shown in FIG. 7A. Macys.Com's next pages uses a boxed thumbnail and a text-string list as shown in FIG. 7B. FIGS. 7C and 7D are two of the description pages with boxed images and text descriptions connected to indices in the text-string list in FIG. 7B under the boxed thumbnail on the right side of the page. The “headline” banner graphics common to FIGS. 7B, 7C, and 7D is static and decorative, having no link or dynamic function associated with it. FIG. 8 illustrates the Home-Page layout of GreatFood.Com, The central graphics shows a pleasing cluster of foodstuff. However, it is a decorative single entity static image with no link, no partition, and no function other than decorative.
The merchandising and advertising images in print and television media are entirely different from the discrete, abrupt, single item electronic media presentation of the electronic media prior art. FIGS. 9A and 9B are joint print advertisements of CHANEL No. 5 and MACY'S, appearing in magazines, respectively. Products are grouped, and presented with a beautiful young woman, a pleasing pastel purple case, and blissful butterflies, implying that beautiful and leisurely people use Chanel No. 5 and shop at MACY'S. The images further suggest that if you use Chanel No. 5 and shop at MACY'S, (you or your wife or girlfriend) would be just as beautiful, and your life would be just as blissful.
FIGS. 10A and 10B are promotional photographs from Northern California Home & Design, a print magazine of interior furnishing products and trades. Furniture and accessories are arranged in room settings, suggesting the fine workmanship, class, and tasteful home setting with rugs, fireplaces, and nice tall windows. The images intend to transport viewers to the frame of mind of desiring these products. FIGS. 11A and 11B are full-page images from Hamilton Jewelers' catalog. Grouping and clustering of products are photographed against soft and classy background to convey a sense of richness, refinement, and luxury. Such examples are routine and abundant in the world of static, however, un-actionable print and television media. It is apparent that the prior-art single object, stand-alone presentation used in electronic-media and electronic-commerce, although dynamic and actionable, is not consistent with the well known perceptional and sensual preferences in human, and most likely possesses less potential for achieving desired goal to impress and entice buyers. The prior art of advertising in printed media, however, produces images that is static, unseparable, and unactionable.